The Collection
From the earliest campaigns to the present day and in to the future, the armed forces have always relied on small craft. From mounting amphibious operations, to air sea rescue, from clandestine landings to frontline fighting, small boats have a played a vital role.
The Trust has been preserving historic vessels from the early 1990's and now has one of the largest collections of military related craft. The PNBPT collection illustrates the wide range of tasks and specialities these craft were built to undertake. Included in our collection are frontline offensive weapons like MGB 81, build to attack marauding German torpedo boats; heroic RAF launches, built to rescue downed airmen and service flying boats; mundane yet crucial service launches for the ferrying of equipment and personnel and landing craft used as recently as the Falklands campaign. The collection represents the full spectrum of tasks undertaken by small boats in time of war and of peace. Without them the armed forces would simply not be able to function.
More recently the Trust has succeeded in obtaining funding from the Chancellor's LIBOR Fund to create the "Memorial Flotilla" - a collection of fully operational craft representing those which took part in the defence of the realm throughout the 20th Century. These include WW1 steam powered craft, several WW2 vessels and a landing craft which took part in the Falklands Campaign.
The Trust also cares for historic craft which are owned by third parties and which help tell the story of small craft in the operation of the Royal Navy.
Click on a vessel below to find out more information and see further images.